Geis of the Gargoyle (22 page)

They climbed down his arm and made it to the ground.
 
Then they followed his huge tracks on into the heart of the madness.
 
There were the usual weird effects and confusions, but Gary felt encouraged and knew that his companions did too.

But the day was late, and this was no region to try to traverse in the dark.
 
So they found a reasonably sedate alcove formed by wallnuts, and foraged for pies and juices, and settled down for the evening.

Or at least they tried to.
 
But this was the Region of Madness, and it couldn't leave them alone long.
 
Surprise, tired from the day's events, wasn't bothered; she was floating just above the ground, sound asleep.
 
But Gary and the others took longer to settle.

The trees took on alien forms and seemed to nudge quietly closer, extending hooked branches.
 
Gary thought it was his imagination, until a branch tugged at his humanclothing sleeve.
 
He knew that branch had not been that close before.
 
But he didn't say anything, so as not to make a fuss about nothing.
 
This was no tangle tree, and was probably harmless.

He removed his man-style shoes, which were pinching his human toes in the prescribed manner, and set them before him.
 
They made two little sighs, and small gobs of vapor rose from them.
 
"What is this?" he asked.

Hiatus glanced at him.
 
"Those are the souls of your shoes, of course," he said.
 
"They get uncomfortable with your weight on them all day, and only at night do they have a chance to relax.
 
Let them be; they'll need their strength for tomorrow's trek."

"I didn't know shoes had souls," Gary said.
 
"I thought only creatures had souls."

"Shoes are special," Hiatus assured him.
 
"They have to work very hard."

"Actually, usually only human creatures have souls," Iris said.
 
"Or part-human creatures, like harpies or centaurs.
 
The shoes must get their souls from association."

"Only human-related creatures have souls?" Gary asked, troubled.
 
"Then what about gargoyles?"

"Do you have any human derivation?"

"Not that I know of?"

"Then you must lack a soul."

"No, he must have a soul," Mentia said in her rational way.
 
"Because his shoes do.
 
They could not get souls from association if there were no source."

"Well, he is in human form," Iris said.

"Form alone does not count.
 
We demons can assume any form we choose." She illustrated by becoming a toadstool, complete with a frog.
 
The frog croaked with surprise and jumped off.
 
"I'm supposed to be a toad," it said with disgust.

"The madness is interfering again," Iris said.

"Do demons have souls?" Gary asked.

"We are souls," Mentia said, resuming her normal form.
 
"So we don't have souls.
 
Not that we miss them."

"But what about your better half?"

The demoness grimaced.
 
"She did get half a soul when she married, and suddenly she had love, conscience, loyalty, self-sacrifice, and all the better human traits.
 
It was disgusting.
 
That's why I had to split.
 
I am her soulless remnant.
 
I at least remain demonly pure."

"But if you are souls, shouldn't you have the good traits?" Gary asked, shrugging away another branch.

"No, all our energy is used just maintaining our existence," Mentia said.
 
"We don't have any left over for those awkward things.
 
You have to have a physical body before your soul can get into the mushy stuff."

"What about the humanIdemon crossbreeds?" Iris asked.

Mentia shrugged.
 
"An argument can be made that they have two souls.
 
Their demonly aspect is one, and their human aspect can have another.
 
They might even be able to have two talents, because each soul can have its own talent."

Their eyes turned to the sleeping child.
 
"I wonder," Iris murmured.

"No, she is not a demon," Mentia said.
 
"I would know.

She is just a child with wild talents.
 
She will surely be less interesting when she gets them under control."

"But her family will be relieved," Gary said.
 
This time he had to remove two branches that were plucking at his clothing.
 
"Am I imagining it, or is this tree trying to grab me?"

"It is trying to snatch your clothing," Hiatus said.
 
"Another has been trying to do the same thing to me, but I am discouraging it by growing warty excrescences on it.
 
This twisted talent of mine still has its uses."

"Another has been trying for mine," Mentia said.
 
"But without success, since I am in smoky form at the moment."

"Snatching clothing?" Iris asked.
 
"Eeeek! One has taken my blouse! It was so slow I never noticed."

"It is dark enough so that we can't see you anyway," Hiatus said reassuringly.

"But now I shall have to clothe myself partly in illusion," she said, irritated.
 
"And illusion isn't warm enough."

"I will try to find a blanket bush," Gary said.
 
"A blanket should help you." Actually he was getting cold himself.

"I'll help," Iris said.
 
A light flared, and Gary saw that she was carrying a lamp.
 
It illuminated her slip-covered upper torso.

"You conjured a lamp?" Hiatus asked, surprised.

"No, this is illusion," Iris explained.

"An illusory lamp makes real light?" Gary asked, surprised in turn.

"The light is illusory too," she said.
 
"Come on; let's find that blanket bush."

They stepped out by the illusory light, which spread widely enough to prevent them from walking into trees or holes in the ground.
 
Gary decided not to question the matter further.
 
He was afraid that if he did, he would no longer be able to see clearly enough to pick his way past the sharp stones and sticks that lurked for his tender bare human feet.

There seemed to be no blanket or pillow bushes to be found.
 
But Iris spied a low-lying cloud.
 
"Maybe some of that will do," she said, going for it.

"But that's just mist," Gary protested.

"No, we haven't missed it yet.
 
But it won't remain there long."

"Fog, I meant.
 
Vapor.
 
No substance."

"Not necessarily.
 
Clouds can be solid enough to hold pools of water; only when they get tilted or shaken does it come down as rain.
 
And this is in madness; that probably affects its nature." She reached the cloud and caught hold of its substance with her free hand.
 
Then she set the lamp on her head so she could use both hands.
 
A big puff of cloud stuff came away in her arms.
 
"Yes, this will do just fine.
 
Help me get enough, Gary."

Gary put forth his human hands and touched the cloud.
 
It felt like fluffy cotton.
 
He pulled, and an almost weightless chunk of it came away from the main mass.

He followed Iris back to the wall-nut tree.' "I'll put mine on the ground, and we'll use yours for a cover," she said.
 
"We can't let go, or it will float away."

"I got this for you," he said.
 
"I will return for more for me."

"Don't be silly.
 
You'll never find your way in the darkness.
 
We'll share."

"But what about Hiatus and Mentia? Aren't they cold too?"

"I don't think so," she said.
 
She lifted her lamp high, and he saw by its expanding light that Hiatus was now settled comfortably on a feather bed under Surprise, who was still sleeping while floating.

"Where did that come from?" he asked.
 
"And where is Mentia?"

The bed opened a mouth on the side.
 
"Don't be silly, gargoyle," it said.

The demoness had formed herself into the bed, he realized.
 
Still, he had a question.
 
"If your magic is messed up by the madness, how could you choose to do that?"

"By trying to turn myself into a block of concrete," the bed said.
 
"Madness can be managed, when you understand it-and I, being a bit crazy normally, have not had much trouble relating to it, though I remain uncomfortably sane."

So Gary sat on the bottom puff of cloud, and found it quite comfortable.
 
He lay back on it, and it was heavenly soft without yielding so far as to let him touch the ground.
 
The cloud substance retained some of its daytime warmth, and he realized that it was probably better for this purpose than a blanket would have been.

Iris settled beside him and pulled the other fragment of vapor over them both.
 
Her body was warm and soft too, and very close.
 
"But-" he started.

"Oh, that's right-1 left the light on," she said.
 
The lamp disappeared, leaving them in darkness.
 
"Comfy now?"

"But-you.
 
aren't wearing anything, I think."

"There's no need to maintain illusion clothing in darkness," she pointed out.
 
"I will make a new illusion outfit in the morning, and perhaps use what remains of this cloud to fashion a new blouse."

"But your body is so close."

"Why so it is," she said as if surprised.
 
"However, allow me to remind you mat I no longer need illusion to make my ancient bones appear young.
 
I am physically twenty-three years old, which I believe is about your human physical age.
 
We match rather nicely, I think."

"Match? For what?"

"Well, we might start with a kiss on the ear," she said, suiting action to word.

Gary was so surprised he slid right out of the cloud cover and landed on the cool hard ground.

"Oh come on," Iris said, hauling him back between the layers.
 
In the process her body got even closer than before.

"What are you trying to do?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm trying to seduce you."

Gary was amazed.
 
"To what?"

She laughed.
 
"Aren't you interested?"

"No.
 
I don't understand this at all."

There was a pause consisting of perhaps two and a half moments.
 
"I have been so old so long that it is a real relief to be young again, in body," she finally said.
 
"What use is it to be young if you can't enjoy the potentials of youth?"